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Why Is Trust Important In Macbeth

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Macbeth has not failed to show how evil he can become. After he killed Duncan, his brain started to twist. His conscience soon began to distort so much, he planned the killing of Banquo. He killed his best friend over power and his title. “"All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"--Lord Acton,” (Meyers) is the basis of this play. This obviously means that he will do everything to keep the throne. It also means that Macduff was next on his list. He had gone to England to gain Malcolm's trust and aid, and that meant his family was undefended. Obviously, he kills Macduff’s wife and son. It is this scene, as said by my teacher Mr. McGee, that is the most intriguing. Why? The messenger comes in, Lady Macduff and him talk, her …show more content…

Trust is the basis of the entire play, so why wouldn’t it be used here. It is first introduced with Duncan’s trust, as explained by Hunt; “A conferred title in Shakespeare's plays most memorably transforms character for the worse when Duncan makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. This conferral not only helps corrupt Macbeth; it also works indirectly to destroy Duncan in ways that have not been described.” (Hunt) At the beginning of this scene, Lady Macduff catches wind that Macduff has left for England a long time ago. She feels betrayed. Ross insists that she trust her husband’s judgment and then regretfully departs. Once he is gone, Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead, but the little boy perceptively argues that he is not. Suddenly, a messenger hurries in, warning Lady Macduff that she is in danger and urging her to flee. Lady Macduff protests, arguing that she has done no wrong. A group of murderers then enters. When one of them denounces Macduff, Lady Macduff replies with something unusual. She says, “I hope, in no place so unsanctified Where such as thou mayst find him.” Woah, but didn’t she think that he was a traitor? The trust in the play is continually flip-flopped to where it’s hard to know what trust there actually is, and that’s the …show more content…

There is the obvious example of “fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (A1,S1,L10,pg.323) This is the infamous line that sets up the entire play of Macbeth. Mack describes the witches as: “They have considerable power of insight and suggestion, we gather, but they do not determine a man's will, and Macbeth never blames them for influencing what he has done, only for tricking him into a false security.” (Mack) Lady Macduff doesn’t have any insight, only blunt facts. In this scene, Lady Macduff expresses her anger at the fact that Macduff left her and his son vulnerable. She calls her son fathered, but fatherless. Her son does have a father, but considering how Macduff left them like a coward, he might as well not have a father. It’s somewhat confusing why it is a paradox when it is explained, but it is simply easier to think of it as a contradiction blown out of proportion. She also is strangely quick to defend her husband when the murderers come to kill Macduff, which could also be counted as a paradox, or

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